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Dabney Montgomery Honored By Teamsters Local 237

"What I want to know is," Montgomery said, glancing sideways to his wife, seated at the high table to his right, "do I still have to take out the trash tonight."

[Soldier Honored On Founders Day]

A life well lived; and still going strong.

That was the unofficial theme when Dabney N. Montgomery was honored with the "Trailblazer Award" during the Teamsters Local 237 Founder's Day Luncheon.

Montgomery was a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the all-Black unit that served the flag and the nation during World War II.

The packed luncheon hall fell silent when Montgomery, 86, and still firm, took to the podium to share a few words, following tributes in his honor by several dignitaries, including keynote speaker Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and Local 237 President Gregory Floyd.

"What I want to know is," Montgomery said, glancing sideways to his wife, Amelia, at his right Amelia, "do I still have to take out the trash tonight?"

The soldier brought the roof down.

Also in attendance were his supporters from his church and members of Harlem's Community Board 10, his neighborhood.

After returning from the War, Montgomery went to the South and fought to end discrimination there, even marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and serving as one of his bodyguards.

Montgomery said when he first left the South to head to New York many years ago, his father urged him to "join a church and a union," and that he kept both commitments.

Montgomery was among the Tuskegee Airmen honored by President Barack Obama at the inauguration, and he was also awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor in the past, with his surviving colleagues.